Several people across the globe suffer from different neurological disorders. However, the drugs currently available in the market provide only symptomatic relief and do not treat the root cause. This is because of their inability to penetrate across the blood brain barrier (BBB). BBB is a highly selective permeable membrane which allows the entry of only specific molecules, across it, into the brain. The widening gap between the demand of effective treatments and supply of BBB permeable drugs is going to provide a major impetus to the BBB market in the coming decade. Several pharma companies have identified the unmet need and have developed proprietary technologies. These technologies cater to the aforementioned concerns and are being deployed to develop drugs and APIs that penetrate across the barrier and reach the brain at therapeutically active amounts. Once approved, these drugs are likely to park a major share of the total market.

With growing advances in R&D, and the increasing demands for specific drugs, BBB technologies have become one of the key focus areas of researchers and companies across the world. Several venture capital firms have backed the start-ups working in this field. In addition, partnerships and collaborations have played a pivotal role in the advancement of this market. Many smaller companies, as a part of their business model, are looking to out-license their technologies to the established players in this industry.

SCOPE OF THE REPORT

The ‘BBB Technologies: Novel CNS Drug Delivery Approaches, 2015 - 2030’ report provides an extensive study of the emerging market of BBB technologies and associated drugs for neurologic diseases. The focus of this study is primarily on the technologies that are non-invasive in nature.

There are other technologies which either disrupt the barrier or use an alternate route to bypass it. These technologies are, for the purpose of this report, considered competing in nature. The report covers various aspects such as research pipeline, technological profiles, recent developments and sales forecast to assess new evolving opportunities. We have also provided a competitive market analysis to compare the potential that resides in the leading neurological indications, such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis and brain cancer, for which BBB permeable drugs are being developed.
In addition to the well-known technologies, we have also provided case studies on four other technologies; these are either in direct competition or have been previously worked upon. Our opinion and insights, presented in this study, were influenced by the discussions that we conducted with different technology providers in this industry.

One of the key objectives of this report is to understand the future state of the BBB technologies market. This is done by analyzing the following:

Pipeline candidates based on these technologies
Size of target consumer segments
Expected launch year and countries where these clinical stage candidates are likely to receive commercialization rights
Likely price points

The base year for the report is 2014. The report provides market forecasts for the period 2019 - 2030. The figures mentioned in this report are in USD, unless otherwise specified.

EXAMPLE HIGHLIGHTS

1. More than 25 companies have developed proprietary non-invasive BBB technologies. Majority of these companies are either university spin-offs or start-up firms. Some pharma giants, such as Roche, AbbVie and Genzyme, have also deployed their expertise to develop novel technology platforms.

2. Majority of BBB technologies (53%) are based on the process of receptor mediated transcytosis (RMT). Within RMT, Trojan horse is the most common strategy. Several companies, such as Vect-Horus, BBB Therapeutics, and Angiochem, have utilized this approach to transport therapeutics into the brain.

3. These technology developers are evaluating their technologies on over 50 drug candidates spread across different development stages. 80% of these drugs are undergoing either preclinical or proof of concept and efficacy studies.

4. Based on several parameters, such as target patient population, and competition (both in terms of number of pipeline and marketed drugs), we believe that indications such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease offer a very lucrative future for this market.

5. Interest of venture capital firms, licensing/ partnership opportunities will continue to act as key growth drivers of BBB technologies market. In fact, during our research, we identified several instances where venture capitalists and other strategic investors have actively supported the research efforts.

6. The first batch of BBB permeable drugs, based on these technologies, is anticipated to be launched in 2019/2020; post this, we expect the momentum to rise steadily trending towards a multi-billion dollar market by 2030.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Most of the data presented in this report has been gathered by secondary research. We have also conducted interviews with experts in the area (academia, industry, medical practice and other associations) to solicit their opinions on emerging trends in the market. This is primarily useful for us to draw out our own opinion on how the market will shape up across different regions and drug segments. Where possible, the available data has been checked for accuracy from multiple sources of information.

While the focus has been on forecasting the market over the coming nine years, the report also provides our independent view on various technological and non-commercial trends emerging in the industry. This opinion is solely based on our knowledge, research and understanding of the relevant market gathered from various secondary and primary sources of information.

1. PREFACE

1.1. Scope of the Report

1.2. Research Methodology

1.3. Chapter Outlines

2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

3. BLOOD BRAIN BARRIER: AN INTRODUCTION

3.1. Overview

3.2. Structure of Human Brain

3.3. Strategies for Drug Delivery to the CNS

3.3.1. Systemic Administration of Therapeutics

3.3.2. Direct Administration of Therapeutics

3.3.3. Drug Delivery by Manipulation of the Drug

3.3.4. Chemical Delivery Systems

3.3.5. Drug Delivery Using Devices

3.4. Blood Brain Barrier

3.4.1. Historical Evolution

3.4.2. Structure

3.4.3. Associated Functions

3.5. Strategies for Drug Delivery Across BBB

3.5.1. Increasing the Permeability of the BBB

3.5.2. Pharmacological Strategies to Facilitate Transport Across the BBB